this is a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. it was packed yesterday morning. this morning a lot earlier than expected. first it was just the cash lanes people getting through. all lanes, metering lights are now on, as well. >> clearly people trying to get ahead of the game just packing the lanes. also give you a live look at the golden gate bridge. not nearly as crowded. smooth sailing out there. ferries in the bay expected to be filled up. brace yourselves. it will not be a smooth one, day two of the bart strike going on. >> sorry. >> wish we could help. we can help this way. anthony slaughter here to show you ways to get around it and plan to get your day to a decent start. >> we are watching accident at 580 livermore. you can see from our chopper camit is zooming around trying to get its act together. right around the bend traffic backs up all the way to 205. this is your route this morning.

you are urged to leave early because traffic is at a stand still. once you get to livermore and past this you are moving smoothly. you can see it is a stand still as far as our chopper eye can see. let's get you to the traffic maps you can see what it looks like. you can see right through livermore the green and that continues to extend all the way to hayward and fremont. once you get past all of activity things are good to go. you saw traffic starting to back up here. beautiful sunrise to all of that. east shore freeway things are starting to stack up coming from richmond. otherwise no major accidents so that is really good news this plorning. >> a little silver lining there. a lot of people going to be jammed up on the road. one alternative is taking the

bus. ac transit operating. bart has doubled the number of charter buses it hired to get commuters to san francisco. >> christie smith live in oakland where the buses are lining up. i would imagine the people too. >> reporter: good morning to you. as early as it is people seem to be in pretty good spirits having to deal without their usual bart train maybe because one driver said if you are on one of the buses at this hour he can get you into san francisco from within about 30 minutes. around 7:30 or 8:00 he says sit tight because it might take 90 minutes to get to downtown. bart did double the number of charlter buses today. yesterday it was 18. today it is 36. they are lined up around the block this morning as we are in day two of the bart strike. the buses can only do so much in terms of moving mass amoupts of people compared with bart that

moves 400,000 riders each day. one woman drove from richmond to oakland and jumping on a bus to san francisco. >> i just want to get to work. and i'm going in earlier so i can get off earlier so i can beat the commute. >> reporter: do you know how long it is going to take you? >> no, i don't. i'm okay with it as long as i can get to work and get there safely i'm okay. >> reporter: now, ac transit is also operating extra buses today. they have a stop at 20th and broadway in oakland. buses rolling there today. charter buses are also at four other bart stations. they run from 5:00 to 9:00 in the morning and again from 3:00 to 7:00 in the afternoon. if you are coming from the other stations they bring you here to west oakland and then you are moved on to one of these other

charter buses. there is a transfer involved. christie smith, "today in the bay." not only is it taking more time, the bart strike costing commuters more money. one way fare on bart usually takes riders 11 minutes costing almost $3. ac transit online b from the ferry building taking riders 31 minutes in normal traffic costing $4.20. ferry service takes about 25 minutes and is costing riders $6.25 each way. the strike is also causing trouble for baseball fans planning to head out to tonight's as game at the coliseum. since bart isn't an option fans are being warn that traffic and

parking will likely take extra time. stay with "today in the bay" all morning long. we will have commute alternatives running in our tickerer at the bottom of your screen. you can head to our website, nbcbayarea.com. you will find ways to get around the bart strike. >> our other top story, the heat wave not just burning in our hearts, it is blanketing the entire bay area. all of that hot weather forcing the emergency closure of alum rock park today. park officials say there are extreme fire conditions in that area. they also want to try to reduce or eliminate fire emergencies. the closure you should take note are supposed to last for just today. because of the extreme heat out there the cooling centers)!2ñ w be open again across the bay area today. ten centers will be open in san jose through tomorrow through 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. they include the community centers.

you want to tell anybody who needs that you can have those available to you. we will have a complete list on our website on nbcbayarea.com. >> i will be really curious with 4th of july right around the corner whether shows will be cancelled. >>. >> it is going to be. we will not see heat break that much as we get into independence day. you want to put on the radar the fact that bart might not be working. so everybody who typically goes to san francisco for the fireworks you might not be able to do so this year with mass transit. 63 in oakland. yea independence day. a lot to look forward to. today we peak. we level off tomorrow and then we start to gradually cool you down. between thursday and friday we have a significant dropoff.

will show you that when we get to your seven day outlook. for today the areas in red is the hottest. 90s to 100 degree plus readings. highest temperature i forecasted about 108 today in places like fairfield. 107 degrees. that is what i'm forecasting in livermore. the all-time record for the month of july is 110 degrees. we are rivaling all-time records for the month of july. it is going to be a scorcher. after today temperatures will drop off gradually. by friday back to average. 107 livermore. 90 in fremont. coming up i'm going to show you what we are expecting for some of the fireworks shows on thursday. he is the man of the hour. >> can we get air. i'm starting to get really warm running back and forth. let's take a look outside. 101 this is the south bay in san jose. traffic is starting to pick up

here this is right around 680. you will notice the head lights are on. a good indication that traffic is going to start to pick up here in the next hour or so. not too bad. lots of green in the south bay. that is good news if you are leaving from san jose. no problems to report. the big issue this morning as we showed you earlier the traffic stacking up past livermore into 205 because of an earlier accident. the bay bridge approach things are starting to slow down. also from 880 perspective you notice there really past the oakland coliseum things continue to remain heavy. the good news no major accidents on major freeways except for 580 moving through hiv liver. if that is your route you may want to leave earlier. a former richmond football coach returns to court to answer to more charges after a third victim came forward accusing him

of sexual assault. baron edwards was charged with a long list of sex crimes against two girls in the 80s and 90s. prosecutors have added the third victim allegedly abused in the early 2000s. edwards coached varsity football. also in court a man accused of killing his girlfriend expected to enter his plea. shepherd charged with murder. prosecutors say he killed 46-year-old bertha paulson last month and then dumped her body. it is morgan hills only homicide this year. charges could be filed today against a san francisco firefighter accused of driving a ladder truck drunk. police say michael quinn was responding to an emergency saturday night when he hit a motorcyclist. he remained at the scene but officers say he ended up taking off before taking a drug and

alcohol test. police say when quin was arrested a few hours later his blood alcohol level was .13%. the fire department says he is currently suspended without pay. edward snowden still hiding in moscow's airport. we are getting an idea of where he is seeking asylum. we give you a live look at san rafael right now. the bart strike affecting commutes all over the bay area. we are trying to get more buses out there but the roads snarled up. we have live updates all morning long. you can get an idea of alternate routes by looking at the ticker on the bottom of the screen.

you're watching "today in the bay." edward snowden right now petitioning a long list of countries for asylum this morning. a few hours ago he pulled one of

the countries off his list "today in the bay's" pott s live in washington, d.c. this is a story changing day to day. >> as of today at least 20 countries still on that list. the one that edward snowden pulled himself, russia, the country where he is in though not technically because he is in the transit area of the airport. russia said he could stay, president putin said as long as he stops leaking information. no thank you edward snowden said and with drew his own application for asylum according to the media there. so that leaves 20 countries where edward snowden is trying to get asylum. as of this morning india said no. a half dozen other countries said they can't consider his application unless he could get out of the airport. meantime secretary of state john

kerry in a meeting discussed the situation but didn't come up with answers. >> this is one we will be watching closely. tracy pots in washington, d.c. thank you so much. we are learning more about what killed 19 elite firefighters in arizona. arizona state forestry department says it appears the firefighters did not have an open field large enough for the entire group to shelter so they were overtaken by the fast moving fire. the 19 men used emergency fire shelters which could not withstand severe heat. hundreds gathered to remember the firefighters who died. >> he wanted to be a firefighter since he was 5 years old because that is what i do. and so two years ago he started. they had a bad day yesterday. >> huge loss for that community. the fire burning near prescot.

on the international scene new this morning egypt's military demanding the country's president resolve the political crisis or the military will be stepping in with its own plan. protesters spending another night calling on president mohamed morsi to step down. this has been two years since the last political uprising that ousted former president hosni mubarak. morsi said he will try to work towards a dialogue with all political forces. south african officials planning a special celebration ahead of nelson mandela's birthday. the former south african president is still in critical but stable condition. mandela has been in a hospital for more than 32 weeks now with a recuring lung infection.

his 95th birthday is on july 19. >> president obama is returning home boarding air force one after a stay in tanzania. the ceremony wraps up a week long tour of africa for the president and his family which also included stops in south africa. let's talk to christina loren about what is happening outside. you have been warning us about this heat wave. it is bizarre to have it mid 70s and wet. >> it is humid out there and hazy. the three hs, hot, humid, hazy and frizzy hair. 5:46. i'm fighting that uphill battle. 62 degrees in napa. 64 in concord. 73 degrees in livermore to wake up. not all that pleasant when you walk out the front door. not refreshing.

it is pleasant. i want to point out just how much warmer it is at this hour than 24 hours ago. nine degrees warmer in livermore. you adjust the thermostat by a degree or two it makes a significant difference. we are actually looking just about the same as yesterday. good to moderate air quality. that is good news for today. look at what we are dealing with high pressure, wrap around moisture coming up into the bay area. that is the subtropical flow making things a bit dicier. we could see isolated thunderstorms. we could see clouds over the santa rosa area. also that goes for the east bay hills and western facing slopes we could see some of the clouds bubble up and maybe get an isolated thunderstorm or two. the chance is very slight but we are concerned because we could

actually see dry lightning strikes. we are watching for the fire danger today. if you don't have to outdoor burning don't do it. it is too hot for a barbecue. 107 degrees inland today. 76 at the coast. too hot. 4th of july 103 degrees. we will shave off four to five degrees by friday. finally hitting levels that are average for this time of year. average has never looked so beautiful. >> looks real nice. saturday 87 degrees. we're talking about issues this morning. the bay bridge approach. we still have major slow downs. even through richmond things start to slow. the good news in all of this, folks i think left a little bit earlier today and that is the good news because we are not seeing the major trouble spots as we saw yesterday. that's good news.

otherwise the accident we told you about on 580 right at the road. it was because of an earlier accident. it slows through to 205. very slow go on 580 this morning. >> thank you very much this morning. 5:49. house minority leader nancy pelosi going head to head with republicans on capitol hill every day. today she goes one-on-one with raj mathai in what we call the interview. the representative from san francisco talks to raj about hillary clinton possibly running for president in 2016 and what it is like to be the minority in a republican-led house. >> they have the majority and they are obstructing the president. we are not obstructing the president. we didn't obstruct president bush when he was president. we disagreed and contested him on the issue of privatizing social security and the war in

iraq. we didn't say nothing you present will never be approved. we did many good things. >> you can see the entire interview tonight at 6:00 here on nbc bay area. police departments partnering up to try to crack down on people firing drugs to celebrate the 4th of july. all holding a joint news conference. they are set to announce the use of shot spotter technology to try to find people firing gun shots. they can detect and distinguish between fireworks and gun fire. anybody convicted could face up to three years in prison. that is ridiculously dangerous. the airline that said it is only hiring women flight attendants from now on. you'll find out more coming up.

you're watching "today in the bay." >> want to give you a look at the san mateo bridge. traffic not too bad as the day progresses but again with the bart situation going to the strike day number two. 5:53. an airline in india says it won't be hiring male flight attendants anymore. go air says hiring only women flight attendants will save the airline as much as a half a million dollars a year on fuel. women are on average 40 pounds lighter than their male counter parts. the airline plans to carry less water for passengers and alter the exterior of the plane to reduce fuel burn during flight. remember the twins?

they failed to win their case against facebook but they seem to think the future is in something else, bit coin. it is currency you can't touch. >> really controversial. you don't really need to understand bit coins but know that their value jumps all over the place. you can make money off of that volatility. the twins filed paperwork to create an index fund, think of it as a time share. a bunch of investors gather to buy bit coins and when the value goes up the value of your investment goes up. the thing that you are buying is tied to the worth of something else. wall street is full of these called exchange traded funds. in most cases they are sort of stocks in stocks. the third quarter has been nothing but wins on wall street so far. absolutely unbroken streak of one day.

zynga closed 10% higher monday after a shake up at the top. we will take a closer look at that in about 20 minutes. monday we were talking about former group on ceo andrew mason who moved from chicago to palo alto after being fired from the company he founded. he said he recorded an album of business songs. that album was released this morning. ♪ if you are seeking business wisdom ♪ ♪ you don't need no mba ♪ >> it is available on spotify and ituness. fantastic. >> got a good beat. >> i just heard it soaring to number one. >> the album cover, the brick wall there. keeping it sexy businesswise. >> you don't need no mba.

>> i think you actually sing it better than him. let's check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning. we are singing a whole other song in the weather department. pick your favorite hot weather song. mine is "the heat is on." 107 degrees in livermore. 77 in san francisco. 97 degrees, one degree away from anthony slaughter's favorite band and you know what that is, 98 degrees. >> i was thinking traffic. >> your favorite band. >> i wasn't focused on the weather. i have so much going on. i don't have time to think about songs. 5:56. you see the bay bridge toll plaza. it is so bogged down this

morni morning. i love the rain, maybe that. 5:56. the bay bridge toll plaza slow. let's switch to the traffic maps. you can see very slow coming through the tunnel and past the oakland coliseum. we have been telling you about this all morning long. >> thank you very much. 5:57. new warning for joggers this morning near a bay area school. we will have details next. look at 'em. living on cloud nine with that u-verse wireless receiver. you see in my day, when my mom was repainting the house, you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month

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nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. >> bart workers on strike, day two. this morning no deal, no meetings and no negotiations scheduled. that is all adding up to another day of commuter chaos with jam-packed ferries, long lines for buses, bumper to bumper

traffic out there and major backups on bay area bridges. going to be a rough one out there. want to wish you a good morning to one and all. i'm jon kelley. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> no bart trains running in the bay area and that means 400,000 commuters will have to find another way to work. the commute expected to be especially packed into san francisco as we give you a live look at the bay area toll plaza and interstate 80 in emeryville. commuters who don't want to get behind the wheel can hop aboard a bus to funnel into the west oakland bart station and then to the station in san francisco. "today in the bay's" christie smith joins us live at the west oakland bart station. day two smoother for commuters? >> reporter: commuters are kind of a mixed bag this morning. some are happy they have a ride